The aversive or coercive properties of depressive behavior have not been systematically evaluated. A behavioral analysis of depressive behavior suggests that its most salient feature is its aversive impact on others. Such behavior may be a product of a coercive style of family interaction and may at the same time serve to maintain coercive interchanges. The high rate of depression in mothers indicates that they may be a prime target of coercive interchanges within the family unit. Unfortunately, most studies of depressive social behavior have looked at interactions with strangers. We could find only 18 subjects who had been observed interacting with their families. In the proposed study, we will compare the family interactions of 40 depressed and 40 nondepressed mothers. The depressed women must meet the Research Diagnostic Criteria and criteria on the Beck Depression Inventory, the CES-D, and the MMPI D Scale, have a history of hospitalization within the prior year, and be currently in treatment. A matched sample of women who are neither clinically depressed nor otherwise disturbed will be selected from the same neighborhood. Five observations of all family members interacting in the home and two laboratory observations of each couple problem-solving will be conducted on 3 occasions: at screening, and at 6-month and 12-month followups. Self monitoring and spouse rating data will also be obtained. We expect that these comparisons will show that (1) aversive behaviors are higher in families of depressed, (2) depressive behavior is more likely to occur contingent upon prior aversive behavior, (3) depressed mothers and their families are less skilled at consequating appropriately, and (4) families of depressed are characterized by longer coercive interchanges. Conditional probability analysis will be used to examine the events controlling the behavior of family members.